Chapter 4 The First Business Deal: Second Uncle Jiang Dahe
"You're right, I do want to sell tofu puffs. But they might not sell very well."
"Because I plan to sell it for fifteen coins a pound."
Ye Lidao.
"How much?" Jiang Fuzheng suddenly raised his voice.
Jiang Mai also looked surprised, wondering if she had misheard.
Jiang Ya's mouth dropped open in surprise, then she raised her hand and patted her tummy.
How many coins did he and his brother eat last night?
Ye Li helplessly spread his hands and explained, "Uncle Jiang, it's because the cost is very high. The cost of one jin is eight wen."
"Eight coins?"
Jiang Fu looked at the tofu puffs in Jiang Mai's hand in disbelief: "This stuff costs eight coins per pound?"
"Absolutely! I was shocked when I calculated it yesterday. I had to calculate it three times before I dared to confirm it."
"But fortunately, there are a full sixty of them in a pound!"
Sixty?
Jiang Fuzheng exclaimed in surprise again.
"Yes, these things are hollow and soft inside, and sixty of them only weigh one pound."
Tofu puffs don't take up much weight; even the large ones can weigh thirty or forty per pound.
His are slightly larger than those in the mala tang shops, with sixty pieces per pound.
"Give me a detailed breakdown of the costs."
Jiang Fuzheng frowned.
I was skeptical of what Ye Li said.
These three numbers shocked him greatly.
"good."
Ye Li stretched out her finger and began to calculate the costs for Jiang Fuzheng.
He calculated with exceptional care, so that the village head would know that he had not lied without proof.
The Jiang family did not grow soybeans; they had to buy them from the grain store, where a pound cost three copper coins.
One pound of soybeans can make three pounds of firm tofu.
Tofu loses moisture during the frying process.
One pound of firm tofu can only yield half a pound of tofu puffs.
Three catties of old tofu will yield one and a half catties.
In other words, one pound of soybeans can make one and a half pounds of tofu puffs.
But to turn soybeans into tofu puffs, in addition to the cost of soybeans, there are also the costs of brine and lard.
Firm tofu doesn't absorb much oil. To fry three pounds of tofu, which would yield about one and a half pounds of tofu puffs, you would need to use about two ounces of lard.
Lard is expensive, but if you buy pork fat and render it yourself, it will cost about 35 coins per pound.
That translates to seven coins for two ounces of lard.
In addition, the cost of brine used to make tofu from one pound of soybeans is about five cents.
We also need to consider the cost of firewood. Right now, the amount is small, and our own firewood can handle it.
If production is high, then we will definitely need to find a way to get firewood.
Therefore, he calculated the cost of firewood as one coin.
Of course, labor costs money too.
Jiang Fuzheng has no intention of pushing the large stone mill in his house himself.
He plans to hire someone to grind soybeans for milk.
This portion of labor is roughly calculated as one wen per jin (a unit of weight).
Soybeans, lard, brine, firewood, and labor—these five ingredients combined make the cost of one and a half pounds of tofu puffs 12.5 wen.
On average, the cost of one pound of tofu puffs is eight and three cents.
He said eight coins, and he deliberately said less.
After listening to his explanation, Jiang Fuzheng remained silent for a moment before saying, "Although the cost is high, selling it for fifteen coins is really expensive."
“The villagers would never be willing to buy it.”
This is the same price as pork!
If you can afford pork, who in an ordinary family would be willing to buy tofu?
"Uncle Jiang, I have no choice. Regular tofu can't be used to make tofu puffs. I have to make tofu first, and then I can fry them. By the time I finish all this, it will be dark."
"I work all day and I can't even earn seven coins per pound."
Ye Li further explained.
He earned his money through hard work and blood.
Purely hard-earned money!
Seeing that Jiang Fuzheng's expression remained unchanged, he continued, "Besides, a pound of tofu puffs contains sixty of them. If you can't bear to buy a pound, you can buy them individually. Four for one coin, that's not expensive."
But Jiang Fuzheng still shook his head: "One coin can buy half a pound of tofu."
"The taste is different! Come, let me show you the correct way to eat it."
Ye Li took the bowl from Jiang Mai's hand and planned to make a cold salad with the tofu puffs.
"Xiaomai, go dig up two garlic sprouts."
Jiang Mai didn't say anything, and turned to walk towards the small vegetable garden to the left of the gate.
Jiang Fuzheng then led Jiang Ya into the kitchen.
Ye Li washed her hands and first cut the tofu puffs in half so that the honeycomb structure inside could fully absorb the sauce.
Just as I put the chopped tofu puffs into the earthenware bowl, Jiang Mai came over with two garlic sprouts.
At the base of the garlic sprouts, new garlic cloves have already formed, but they are very small. This type of garlic is tender and can release water, and has a mild spiciness.
But there was no old garlic from last year at home, so Ye Li could only use these two heads of new garlic to make up the difference.
Mince the fresh garlic and put it in a ceramic bowl. Then add chili powder, cane sugar, salt, sesame paste, and balsamic vinegar in that order.
Finally, drizzle with a little sesame oil.
The moment the sesame oil touched the minced garlic, the combined aroma of garlic and oil immediately made Jiang Ya secretly swallow her saliva.
Ye Li took out her chopsticks and thoroughly mixed the seasonings and tofu puffs.
Due to limited resources, the product doesn't look very appealing because it only has chili powder and no bright red chili oil.
But it tastes good, and the aroma is very appealing.
Ye Li placed the ceramic pot on the small dining table, took out three pairs of chopsticks from the chopstick holder, and handed them to Jiang Fuzheng, Jiang Mai, and Jiang Ya one by one, smilingly inviting them to try them.
"This is how to make delicious tofu puffs. Uncle Jiang, please try it."
Jiang Fuzheng took the chopsticks, picked up half a tofu puff coated with minced garlic and sesame sauce, and put it in his mouth.
As soon as he bit down, the abundant sauce inside the tofu puff burst open instantly, fragrant, spicy, and fresh, yet still retaining the chewiness and bean flavor of the tofu puff itself. The taste far exceeded his expectations, and he couldn't help but look at Ye Li.
Ye Li asked hesitantly, "Uncle Jiang, what do you think?"
Jiang Fuzheng remained silent.
He simply reached out and picked up another piece of food with his chopsticks.
Ye Li's anxiety dissipated, and a small smile appeared on her lips.
After their initial surprise, the two little ones, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, couldn't stop eating with their chopsticks.
However, the two did not fully immerse themselves in the food.
The two ate while secretly watching Ye Li. If Ye Li showed any signs of anger, they would immediately stop eating.
Jiang Fuzheng picked up three mouthfuls of food with his chopsticks before stopping.
As soon as he stopped, Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya immediately put down their chopsticks.
He coughed lightly and said to Ye Li, "How much of the fried tofu puffs from yesterday's Ji family is left? I'll buy them all."
"Don't worry about buying it. You are my elder, and it is my duty to show you respect. There is still a little over a pound left, so you can take it back."
Ye Li hurriedly said.
Jiang Fuzheng was somewhat surprised to hear this. This young man from the Ji family really knows how to navigate social situations.
He felt somewhat relieved.
He then shook his head: "Alright, don't say these empty words in front of me."
“I know you don’t have any money. You can’t expect me to just take it for free and then ask you to borrow money from me, can you? If I, Jiang Fuzheng, really did that, your father-in-law would jump out of the ground and beat me up.”
Thinking of Jiang Dahai, who passed away too soon, he couldn't help but sigh: "When your family's life really gets better, and there are new foods to eat, just don't forget this old man."
His words were both reasonable and persuasive.
Ye Li looked a little embarrassed: "Uncle Jiang, then you can just give me thirteen coins. The firewood for making these tofu puffs is from my own family, and I grind the grain myself. There are no expenses for these two things, so I'll sell them for thirteen coins a pound."
"Okay, that's right."
Jiang Fuzheng laughed upon hearing this: "Go over there and grind the tofu later. Use my mule to grind it, it'll save you some effort."
Upon hearing this, Ye Li was overjoyed.
He was still worrying about this last night!
He quickly thanked him, saying, "Thank you, Uncle Jiang!"
"Then you guys have breakfast, I'll go home first. I'll give you the money for the tofu puffs when you go grind the soybeans," Jiang Fuzheng added.
Ye Li should answer.
After seeing Jiang Fuzheng off, he asked Jiang Mai to set the table for dinner, while he fetched water to wash up.
Jiangmai's breakfast is very simple: cornmeal porridge, corn pancakes, and pickled vegetable shreds.
However, after having some cold tofu puffs, the originally bland breakfast immediately became more appealing.
After breakfast, Ye Li picked up the soaked soybeans and two empty buckets, ready to go to Jiang Fuzheng's house to grind soybeans for soy milk.
Before leaving, he instructed Jiang Mai to deliver tofu to Jiang Dahe's family.
Most of the tofu I made yesterday turned into fried tofu puffs. There was one piece left, less than a pound, but it was enough to make a stir-fry.
Yesterday, when Jiang Fu was leading him to other people's homes in the village to spread the word, Jiang Dahe and his family of four had all gone to the fields, and no one was home.
But he had to make a statement.
Jiang Dahe raised Jiang Mai and Jiang Ya, and now that he wants to start a tofu business, he absolutely cannot do without Jiang Dahe's tofu.
Jiang Mai didn't speak, nor did she seem surprised; she simply nodded.
After he left with the bucket, I served the tofu in a bowl and went out with Jiang Ya.
When Ye Li arrived at Jiang Fuzheng's house, Jiang Fuzheng immediately gave him a string of copper coins, exactly thirteen coins.
With these thirteen coins, he put aside his request to borrow lard.
Ten pounds of soybeans can make thirty pounds of tofu. Jiang Fuzheng advertised it yesterday, and there should be quite a few people coming to buy tofu today.
If he can sell them all, he can earn twenty-five coins. Of course, this is the ideal situation. He plans to hold a grand opening promotion.
In this way, even if all the goods are sold, the profit will not be twenty-five coins.
But no matter how much he earns, with the eight coins left by the original owner, he has enough money to buy beans and lard for tomorrow.
Jiang Fuzheng's family had seen him grind soybeans yesterday, so they went about their business and left Jiang Fuzheng to lead the mule to help him grind soybeans.
Mules pull the millstone faster than he does, and the millstone is larger, grinding more at once. Therefore, when the river came, the first bucket of soy milk was almost full.
"Second Uncle, what brings you here?" Ye Li greeted Jiang Dahe as he left the mill.
"Xiaomai said you can make tofu now, so I came over to see if there's anything I can help with," Jiang Dahe said with a smile.
"Thank you, Second Uncle. With Uncle Jiang's mules pulling the millstone, the work here isn't too heavy. You can just have Xiao Liu come and take a look. If you go yourself, you'll delay a lot of the work."
Ye Li was a little embarrassed.
Jiang Liu is Jiang Dahe's eldest daughter.
Jiang Dahe was somewhat surprised to hear this. Just as Xiaomai had said, his nephew-in-law was different.
Ye Li had never given him a kind look before.
However, this is a good thing.
He continued with a smile, "This is our family's business. Xiao Liu should be getting married in the next couple of years, how can we let her get involved?"
"...Second Uncle, could you please help me carry this bucket of soy milk back? It's too heavy for me to carry by myself."
Ye Li smiled.
Jiang Dahe is a good person in every way, but because his wife only gave birth to a daughter and a son, he speaks and acts with extreme disdain for the daughter/son.
She treats her husband and his two nephews, Jiang Mai and Jiang, even better than she treats her own daughter/son.
Since Jiang Dahe was so sincere in helping him, he wouldn't stand on ceremony.
He was now dressed as a young man, and was weaker than a man. He had just carried over ten pounds of soaked soybeans, and it had made him sweat.
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